Saturday, October 17, 2015

Casinos knowingly breed Gambling Addiction to make a profit

Millions of people worldwide are
trapped in financial and emotional despair due to their gambling addiction.
Despite the growing problem, most casinos do not do enough to warn patrons of
the addictive nature of gambling, and in fact many rely on gambling addiction
to fuel the billion dollar industry.

Gambling addiction is found across
all classes in society and does not discriminate based on age, gender, race or
social status. In America, approximately 2 million adults meet the
criteria for “pathological gambling”, or compulsive gambling, while millions
more are problem gamblers.

The negative effects of
gambling addiction are very real and the behavioral, social, and emotional
consequences are similar to drug addiction. However, there are no physical
signs that point to a gambling addiction and it is sometimes referred to as the
“silent addiction,” as addicts can get to the point of losing it all before
they or their family realise there is a problem.

Role of Casinos in Perpetuating
Gambling Addiction

In the United States, lawmakers and
the gambling industry have fuelled a rapid expansion of gambling by legalising
Las Vegas style casinos in several states. Governments promote casinos as sure
sources of income for hurting economies and promise they will provide more jobs
and create revenue that will be put into schools.

However, when proposing to legalise
casinos legislators do not talk about the money that will be needed to support
gambling education and create gambling addiction treatment programmes. Some
states do set aside money for these programmes as they begin to build casinos,
essentially acknowledging the fact that by introducing casinos they will be
creating new groups of addicts in the community.

Widespread government backing makes
gambling seem harmless, and casinos are problematically touted as entertainment
centres similar to ballparks and movie theatres. State governments downsize the
dark side of allowing casinos to be built and never mention the destruction
gambling addiction can cause.

A new report, and one of the
few independent research reports conducted outside of the control of the
gambling industry, gives an objective cost benefit analysis of introducing
casinos into communities. The report concludes that the social and economic costs
far outweigh any potential short term benefits, and that casinos are a
regressive form of income for states that ultimately bring harm to communities.

Legislators argue that problem
gamblers would still gamble and that casinos just concentrate the gambling in
one place. However, casinos make the loss of money to gambling more systematic
and widespread. They offer easy access and temptation for citizens to gamble
closer to home and more often. People living within 10 miles of a casino are
twice as likely to develop a gambling addiction as those who do not have access
to this type of gambling.

Further, casinos are
disproportionately dependent on problem gamblers for the majority of
profits. Problem gamblers contribute to 40-60% of slot machine revenue. Slot
machines are highly addictive and designed to persuade gamblers to spend more
time on the machine and play until their money is gone. When people get hooked
on gambling it creates financial security for the casino and despair for the
gambler and his family.

According to Bill Kearney, a former
gambling addict and avid anti-gambling campaigner, casinos operate like
amusement parks with no safety belts on their rides — they offer no safeguards
to help protect gamblers from becoming addicts.

Current provisions such as posting
the 1-800-GAMBLER hotline which helps refer people to gamblers anonymous groups
and self-exclusion programmes, where people can opt to have themselves banned
from casinos when they develop a problem, only address the issue after one has
already become an addict. They do not work to prevent addiction from
developing.

Policy Changes Needed to Help
Prevent Gambling Addiction

Several measures can and should be
taken to improve casino policies in order to help prevent gambling addiction from
developing.

1. Restrict ability to gamble on
credit.

One problem is the ease of access to
cash and credit within casinos. Where cheque cashing is allowed, casinos use a
third party system that guarantees the casino gets paid even when gamblers
write bad cheques. This makes it too easy for people to break the law by
writing and cashing bad cheques while they chase a slot machine they are sure will give them their money
back eventually. Slot machines are, of course, designed to make the
gambler think they
are going to win, but always in the end, go in favour of the house.

Where cheque cashing is not allowed
and casinos cannot provide credit, they often have ATM machines that will allow
gamblers to take out cash advances on credit cards. In Australia, where more
money is lost to gambling per individual than any other country, local
gambling institutions freely offer $1000 credit to anyone who will accept
it – as long as it is paid back within a week.

Of course, any time people start
gambling on credit, problems are sure to arise. Legislation should take away
gamblers' ability to use any form of credit for gambling within casinos, and at
the very least make it illegal to offer credit specifically for the use of
gambling.

2. Send out monthly comp-card invoices.

Casinos often offer comp-cards that
track a gambler's every move in the casino and offer incentives and rewards to
regular gamblers. ‘Comp' standing for ‘complimentary', these cards track the
amount of money that you play at the casino. Each amount you play, you rack up
points. For example, after 90 minutes of playing slots, you may be rewarded
with a free t-shirt. But in those 90 minutes, you also would have had to spend
close to 100 dollars on the slots – pretty expensive t-shirt, no?!

One proposed provision to combat
gambling addiction would be to require casinos to send out monthly comp-card
invoices to their patrons, so gamblers and their families can see just how much
time and money was lost on gambling, and intervene before serious problems develop.

3. Limit hours of operation.

Many casinos are open 24 hours a
day. A visit to a casino in the early morning hours will quickly reveal the
dark side of gambling addiction. A casino's hours of operation can and should
be restricted. If the place is closing, it will force gamblers to take a break
– and hopefully once they are outside in the fresh air, they can reason with
themselves and realise it was probably for the best that they have some time to
give their wallets (and minds) a rest.

4. Post and distribute facts about
gambling risks.

One Massachusetts
casino offers brochures that give people information about the risks of
gambling and the reality of their odds of winning — but the brochures are
placed off the beaten track within the casino. Posting factual information
about the realities of gambling addiction, how it develops, and a person's real
odds of winning should be required and readily accessible within casinos.

5. Place limits on slot machines.

Slot machines are the most addictive
and popular of gambling methods. In Australia, people can lose up to $1500 AUD
in an hour on the pokies, and some legislators believe slot machines
should limit how much money people can lose before they are kicked off the
machine. Some suggest that if a gambler loses more than $150 in one hour, they cannot
get back on a machine for 24 hours. This would give them some time to think
about whether or not they should continue betting.

The bottom line is that gambling is
an addictive form of entertainment and gambling addiction ruins lives just like
alcoholism or drug dependence. Casinos unfortunately profit from people's
compulsive gambling and currently do little to address or acknowledge the problem.

At Shafa Home we provide treatment for all substance and process
addictions including gambling. Contact us today if you are struggling
with compulsive gambling and need help.